The Princess and the Dragon
by da Panda
Summary: Mitsue runs away from her kingdom in the middle of the war, where she must now be a peasant. This disguise works on Masamune Date, who takes her in as his servant...and maybe something more. R&R.
1. I Didn't Kidnap You!

_Panda-chan: Whee! New Samurai Warriors story!_

_Mitsue: Goodie…_

_Masamune: Ugh._

_Panda-chan: C'mon everyone, cheer up! Besides, Mitsue! You need to introduce yourself to all of the readers!_

_Mitsue: Do I have to?_

_Panda-chan: DO IT! –aims squirt gun at Mitsue-_

_Mitsue: A water pistol. How scary…_

_Panda-chan: Intro. Now._

_Mitsue: -sighs- Fine, fine, fine, fine. My name is Murakami Mitsue. Call me Mitsue. _

_Panda-chan: Mitsue-chan here is one of the OC's in this story! There is another one, and maybe another one, but who knows! _

_Masamune: Why did she have to say the introduction when you told the readers about her?_

_Panda-chan: Because I said so!_

_Masamune: Whatever._

_Panda-chan: By the way, I don't own Samurai Warriors. KOEI owns it._

_Masamune: Enjoy._

_The Princess and the Dragon_

_Chapter One: "I didn't kidnap you!"_

It was the third day. The third day of running away from my once precious home. Now that home is dead to me. Everything is dead to me. I was running to shed away the deadness of everything, and bring life back again. But I found no hope at the time. I don't think I smiled for a long time.

My name is Murakami Mitsue. I _was_ a princess. But after our status in the war, I couldn't bear to see my kingdom collapse. Tears and sorrow would've blinded my eyes. I would've died shortly after that sight anyway.

I may sound like a coward, running away. But I assure you that you would've done the same as well. And trust me, it took a lot of strength to get out of my kingdom and walk away without warning or signal. I was leaving my honored father, mother, and little brother Takashi. What would become of them? Would they die anyhow? I had no other choice but to erase them from my mind until the news got to me.

I really shouldn't be telling this story. But I am, and you're very lucky to hear it.

The third day was almost over, and I decided to make a campfire in a small cave in a forest. Using wood and other objects found in the woods, I managed to make a decent-looking fire to warm me as the night grew chill.

My mission was to not be known as myself. If anyone saw me as the princess of my kingdom, they would only send me back to where I began my venture of escape. I made sacrifices to sell my valuable kimono and cosmetics to peasants, and bought peasant clothes in return. My hairpins I usually stuck in a high bun were all sold, and my hair was let down. My hair was actually quite pretty let down, as it was stick straight and went down to my waist, and my bangs were evenly across my forehead like a sunrise. My eyes were a green color so bright that they almost looked sea foam-colored. Truly, I once had the appearance of a princess, but not anymore. I was now a mere peasant. I still had money in the pouch lying on my right hip, but I was preserving it for food and water, or maybe winter clothes if I continued like this for many more months.

In order to keep my identity a secret, I also had to change my name. During my first three days of traveling, some peasants walked up to me and asked me if I was Murakami Mitsue. I said no, and hesitantly came up with an alias. My aliases keep changing, however. They've been Akane, Sakurako, Junko, and Hanako. I knew that I had to select a new name soon, but it greatly wounded my heart. Mitsue was my true name, and replacing it completely did not feel right. It was the feeling of a caterpillar never being able to transform into a butterfly, because the caterpillar somehow enjoyed being itself. But it had to be done for that caterpillar, and it had to begin becoming a butterfly anyhow.

Sitting around that campfire, I never felt more miserable. This strange melancholy wasn't because of regret of what I have done, but because I had to begin to change. My name, my appearance, everything. It was as if I were being a whole new human being. I had to expunge the memories of my family and friends permanently. I was a new seventeen-year old girl. I was now that caterpillar that had to become a butterfly.

It was a couple hours after building the fire, and stars were now in the sky. The fire was still going to my surprise. I had nothing to do but to listen to the sounds of the forest. Birds chirping and rustles of the trees from the small gusts of wind, and a nearby stream. It was actually a relaxing moment for me, but it didn't heal my wounds of melancholy.

Deciding to get some rest, I was just about to lie down on the cool grass…when it suddenly happened.

Out of nowhere, men in full armor jumped out from the bushes and ran towards me. Screaming, I made a daring attempt to run away, but two of them tackled me to the ground, pushing my face in the grass. Were they from my kingdom? How did they find me here? But as I managed to see the soldiers by slightly lifting my face off of the ground, I saw that they weren't my kingdom's color. My kingdom's soldiers have crimson red armor, but these soldiers had green armor. Another kingdom, another clan.

"It's just a girl." One soldier said.

"But why is a peasant girl all the way out in the forest?" Another soldier questioned.

"Who knows?" Another one stated.

"You imbeciles!" Another voice startled every one of the soldiers. "I told you all to refrain from attacking commoners, but you disobeyed my orders once more! Idiots!" This voice must've belonged to the commander.

"Forgive us, Masamune! We are terribly sorry!" One of the soldiers let go of me and bowed down to a figure in front of him. For some reason, the other soldier was still pushing me down to the ground, as if he didn't hear that he made a mistake of attacking me.

"Imbeciles!" The commander mumbled. Then, I saw him walk over to me, push away the soldier who was holding me down harshly, and knelt down to look at me.

He wore green armor, had a helmet with a large golden crescent on it. He had brown hair the color of chestnuts. But the thing about him that I noticed first was that he had an eye patch on his right eye.

That's when I realized who this was. Masamune Date of the Date Clan.

"Sorry about that, Miss." He said, a voice of kindness, unlike how he just yelled at his men earlier.

"It's nothing." I said, getting off of the ground. I shouldn't of spoken or looked at him in the eye, because he was giving the suspicious look. The look that read "She looks eerily like the missing princess".

"Say, what's your name?" He asked me. After this question, my mind panicked and was searching through names. I could've just easily selected the four names I had used in the past, but I was so afraid. But after a few seconds of silent panicking, I finally found a name.

"Nakamura Rei."

"Rei, huh?" He was peering at me up and down, and I blushed at this. A man had never looked at me allover before. Men should only look at a woman's face, and not the rest of their body. "Men! Grab her arms!"

I was appalled by his command. Two different soldiers walked up and grabbed my arms. Screaming, I tried to escape their menacing grasp, but it was of no use. It was like a rabbit trying to escape from underneath the tiger's paw. They were dragging me through the woods, through bushes and branches that would whip me once the soldiers moved past them. After about ten minutes of being dragged in the pitch-dark forest, I saw about a dozen horses. One was pure white, and the rest were a chocolate brown color.

"Masamune, should we leave her with you?" One of the soldiers holding me asked.

"Of course, you imbecile! Give her to me!" Masamune walked over and took me, forcing my hands behind my back. He tied them up with some rope and dragged me to the white horse.

"Let me go this instant!" I shrieked. Now, I would've said "Unhand Murakami Mitsue at once!" but because of my alias as Nakamura Rei, I had no choice but to keep quiet about my royalty.

"Don't be too alarmed." Masamune whispered in my ear. "We're doing you a favor."

"Favor? It's more like a kidnapping to me!" I screeched.

"Rei, stay calm. We're taking you to our camp. It's not too far away, I promise you." Masamune continued to whisper, ignoring my statement. All I could do was constantly squirm as Masamune put me on his horse. He got on behind me and we dashed off through the darkness of the woods again.

……….

After half an hour of having my mouth covered by Masamune from my constant screaming for help, we arrived at a campsite. There were many cream-colored tents around a large area, and one big one. I assumed it was Masamune's. Masamune got off of his steed and pulled me off. He took my wrist and guided me through to his tent. Two guards were in front of the entrance, and they both nodded in unison once they saw Masamune, and they let us inside. A bunch of candles were lit, but it was still too dim to see anything at all.

"Why do you have me here? What do you want from me?" I asked, quivering.

"Calm down." He said, walking over to a corner of the tent.

"You must answer my questions!" I demanded him, accidentally turning on my princess tone. He turned around and slapped me across the face.

"Commoners are so persistent!"

"I'm not a—," I stopped myself from saying 'commoner'. I had to face the truth now. I really _was_ a commoner now. "Please, Masamune-Sama. I have to know why."

"Silence! I ask the questions first!" Masamune guided me over to a small chair, sat me down in it, and untied my hands. He still kept close by me in case I tried to run off, which I wouldn't do at the moment because I wanted my questions to be answered. "Now then, why were you in the middle of the forest?"

"Because I ran away from my village." I lied.

"Why did you run away?"

"Because I wasn't getting paid at all in my job, and everyone treated me like dirt." I lied again. He sat there and put his hand on his chin.

"Did I answer all of your questions?"

"Almost." He said. "My last question is why do you seem smarter than an average commoner?" This question startled me. I really didn't say anything that clever, did I? Was he suspecting me as my true identity and not this fake girl who was named Rei?

"That is a silly question to ask me."

"I need an answer." He gritted his teeth.

"Is it necessary to have a response?"

"Yes! Now answer me!"

"Because I spent my free time reading books and scriptures that I could afford." I lied once more. He seemed to buy it, because he relaxed his shoulders a bit after I responded to him.

"I see." Masamune walked up to me. "Now, your questions to ask me."

"Why did you kidnap me?" Obviously, that was my first question.

"I didn't kidnap you!" He shouted.

"That is not the answer I was searching for."

"Because it wasn't my answer in the first place." Masamune paced around. "In a few days there is going to be a battle in an area not too far from this campsite. Our greatest fear is that the enemy army makes an ambush through those woods and makes it to this camp." He turned to me. "Chances were that while the enemy army was passing through, they would've killed you anyhow."

When Masamune told me this, I realized that an act that I thought was filled with aggression and empty lust turned into a rescue. I almost wanted to thank him then and there, but I wasn't done asking my questions.

"But why did you take sympathy into a peasant like myself?"

"Because I do it for my people." Masamune said. "If I support others, I'll get more respect. Besides," He walked up to me. "I hate to see a beautiful face get hurt."

I felt my face burn up like charcoal in a flame. His kind comment reminded me of an arranged marriage I once had towards a prince whose name I forgot. He always wrote how beautiful I was, even when he never saw me. Unfortunately, he was in the war and got killed by many arrows. It was tragic, but at least the wedding was cancelled.

"One more question to ask of you, Masamune-Sama." I cleared my throat. "Who might you be in battle with in a few days?"

"The Oda clan." He replied. "You know the name Nobunaga?"

I've heard of Nobunaga Oda many times. He was the ruler of the Oda clan, and many people say that he was absolutely foolish. He was married to the beautiful Nohime and was the older brother to Oichi, who was married to Nagamasa Azai. Father used to tell me many things about all of the generals and officers in the war.

"Yes." I responded.

"We've been preparing this battle for a long time now…and the time has finally come to crush the Oda clan!"

"Well," I said. "I give you my confidence to support you in battle soon." I decided to give more respect to Masamune Date now, because of how he rescued me. But, for some reason, I couldn't stand up out of my chair. I could've run out by now, but a strange presence told me to keep sitting. It felt just like a bee staying on one flower instead of moving onto the next one, as if the nectar in that flower worked better than that bee expected. Masamune turned around after I said these words and stared at me straight in the eyes.

"You…look familiar." He said.

"I believe we haven't met sir." This wasn't entirely true.

It was about a year ago, and Date Masamune came to my kingdom to stop by for a rest. My father wanted to meet with him, so he came to the palace. My father introduced myself to him, but it was very early in the morning, and I wanted to get back to bed, so I made my introduction quick. I never got to see his face that day.

"Are you sure I haven't seen you around somewhere before?" He questioned me.

"No. I have only heard of your name and the great accomplishments you have made so far." He seemed to feel invincible at this statement because of the grin he had given me.

"And I will accomplish many more things until I conquer Japan!" He exclaimed.

"I give my luck to you." I said, standing up and heading towards the exit.

"Whoa, whoa," He ran up in front of me, blocking my way. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I have no business here. I must take my leave." I stated to him.

"Not yet!" He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back into the dimness of the tent. "I will say when you will leave! For now, you will stay with me and become my servant."

Once Masamune said the word 'servant', I felt like the ground when it is rained on. Although the ground is something people admire everyday, when it rains, people curse at it and want it to be its original self. The word 'servant' felt like that muddy, disgusting and pitiful ground. I couldn't disguise this sadness as I slowly nodded my head up and down in a grief-stricken approval. Masamune didn't seem to see this, but he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me closer so our faces were nearly touching. We were so close to each other that I thought he was going to plant his lips onto mine, but he only grinned, breathing slowly. I looked away from his gaze, but he brought my chin up to look into his eye. I was quivering in this process, but I did my best to keep myself from releasing tears. I was changing more into a commoner than ever.

"Now. Go with the guards." He whispered. He let go of my shoulders roughly and led me outside, where one of the guards outside of the tent took my wrist insensitively and led me to a whole other tent. I looked back ay Masamune to see him walking back into his tent in pride, like a cat that caught the mouse.

The guard led me to a much smaller tent, but it was brighter with more candles that Masamune's tent. The guard led me inside, where I saw poorly made mats that were probably made as makeshift beds. There were some people in the tent, mostly asleep.

"You. Masago." The guard kicked one servant awake. The rude awakening startled her, but she stood up, bowed down to the guard, and then looked at me. Scanning me slowly, she nodded her head and took me to the corner of the small tent. The guard left the tent.

"Let me go." I ordered. The girl didn't respond, as she was clutching onto my arms.

"Calm down." Masago said. She took one of the candles near her and put it between the both of us, so I could finally get a better look at her face. She was a very pretty girl. She had short brown hair and hazel eyes. There was some dirt on her face, but she still looked like a beauty with it. She looked a little younger than me, but was probably close to my current age. Around this time, I let the tears run wild. She brought me into a hug. "Don't be so afraid. Although I felt the same way when I worked for Masamune-Sama, too, I knew that the future would be brighter soon. Not like it is any brighter now…but I know that someday it will happen. You'll be freed, too." She whispered, trying not to wake the other people in the tent, who were probably Masamune's other servants.

"I do not belong in a place such as this," I wept silently. "I belong in my home."

"Your…speaking," Masago said to me. She bent down and looked at me in the eyes. "It's so cl-clear…you don't stutter or say words wrong." As Shizu said this, I realized that Shizu's grammar was not very good. I learned later that she stuttered like a frightened child and mixed up her words to make her sentences sound confusing. Commoners mostly don't have enough money to afford for education, so their speaking and words are very poor. Even when I knew this during my identity-changing phase, I always forgot about this. This is also what Masamune realized earlier.

"I was educated very well." I said.

"I can tell. You talk just like something like a princess." Masago said.

"I could assist you with your own grammar if I could, Masago-san." I stated.

"Wow," She smiled. "No one has ever called me Masago-san before. Well, Masago's not even my real name."

"What is your real name?"

"Miyuki." She said. "But when I beginned working with the Date clan, I had to change my name to something not honor…honor-ah-bull." I didn't know what was sadder: Masago's forced name change or her terrible grammar skills. "Sorry, but I never asked what your name is." I paused before I said "Mitsue", as I suddenly remembered my new name.

"Rei."

"Rei is a simple name. Don't think they'll change it." She said. That was actually a great relief. The last thing I needed was another change of my name, because Masamune knew me as Rei already anyway. "But you look really…good…for a servant."

"Do I? I do not think I do." I stated.

"Believe me, you're pretty." She said. But after she said this, her smile faded away and she had a look of nervousness sprawled across her face. "But…it could happen…"

"What could happen?"

"Well…every once in a while, Masamune gets a very pretty servant to go with the clan…" She stated. I was expecting her to continue her sentence, but she only looked down on the floor.

"How come that is so bad?" I questioned with puzzlement.

"The pretty servants do more than work…" Masago said. "You see…sometimes Date-Sama gets…feelings…and…you know…" I knew exactly where this was going. "He would want to be…with you." The tears returned immediately. Not only was I a servant now, but I was also a prostitute. And this upset me even more because of my current innocence. And now that I began to think about it, Masamune treated me very kindly when he first put me into his hands. There was no way he could not just leave me be.

Now I knew what it felt like to be a firefly captured by a child's hands.

_To be continued…_

_Wow, I took quite some time writing this up. But it's finally completed! WOOO!_

_I like Mitsue, or Rei, or whatever! _

_I was waaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyy too lazy to think of a kingdom place for Mitsue-Sama to live in, so I made it sort of like a "make up your own kingdom" place. So, please don't leave a review with something similar to this; "WTF, where the heck does Mitsue live?"_

_Please keep reading, I'll make chapters nice and long for you!_

_-da Panda_


	2. I Have Come to Repay You

_Masago: Whoa! Where am I?_

_Panda-chan: This is the introduction to chapter two!_

_Masago: What's an intro-duck-shun?_

_Panda-chan: We just say that this story has nothing to do with stealing anything from Samurai Warriors or anything like that. It's nothing more than a fanfiction._

_Masago: Oh. I see._

_Panda-chan: Also, it took me a long time to find Masago's name. I tried to find Japanese names that didn't have fanciful meanings in them. I finally came upon Masago, which means, "sand" in Japanese. I was going to use Shizu at first, and then I changed my mind. _

_Masamune: Shizu, eh? So _that's _why you accidentally wrote Shizu twice in that one paragraph in chapter one!_

_Panda-chan: Yeah! My bad!_

_Mitsue: Can we just start the chapter please?_

_Panda-chan: Sure thing! Here's chapter two!!_

_The Princess and the Dragon_

_Chapter Two: "I have come to repay you."_

Two days passed since I officially became the servant of the Date clan. Thanks to the servant Masago, I was able to know all of the rules of being a servant. Meals were every six hours (which didn't consist of much), and the rest was working. The work we did was usually tending some vegetable gardens around the camp area. The vegetable gardens were the indispensable part of life around the campsite. Unfortunately, the vegetables would take a long time (longer than usual) to actually grow, so I heard from Masago. When a vegetable did happen to grow, it would either be given to Masamune or sent to the nearest marketplace to get money in return. It was a difficult life for only being in it for two days.

But one thing that made me thank myself for working like how I was now was that Masamune hadn't called me into his tent. After what Masago had told me when I first met her, I was thankful. But still, something felt extremely uneasy. A day after Masago told me that information, she stated that it had been a while since he came upon a beautiful servant. And one quote that Masamune had said to me kept going through my head:

"_I hate to see a beautiful face get hurt."_

"Rei-chan!" Masago ran over to me.

I still wasn't used to be called Rei. Since my real name is Mitsue and Rei is merely an alias, I never reacted to anything until a few seconds after a command or question was asked. Because of this alias, I didn't realize Masago was talking to me until I saw her staring at me after she had called my fake name.

"Yes, Masago?"

"Rei-chan, I need to do a favor for me!"

"You meanto sat '_I need you to do a favor for me', _not '_I need to do a favor for me'_." I corrected Masago's sentence.

"Right," Masago flushed in embarrassment. I didn't blame Masago for her poor grammar and education; it was because she never could afford any lessons, so she told me. "But look!" Masago lifted up a brown sack, and as I slowly looked inside, I saw two ripe tomatoes and three ripe cucumbers.

"Great! More crops!"

"Yeah!" Masago then handed the brown sack over to my hands, where I took it with gentleness, like a deer caring for her fawn. "But I need a favor for you for me," I didn't want to correct Masago's bad grammar again to prevent further embarrassment, so I shut my lips and listened. "I already have to do some more work, so I need you to take these vegetables to Date-Sama for me."

I immediately wanted to run out of the campsite and leave for good once Masago said this. I was already two days into avoiding being with Masamune-Sama, and now was the time to give him crops? What if he tried to do anything?

"Masago-San, I cannot take these." I pushed the sack back to her, who looked confused as I handed the bag back into her own hands.

"But, how come?" She questioned me.

"Because I…" I didn't know what to say to Masago. Should I confess my fear of seeing Masamune-Sama? What would she do if I told her this, anyhow? "Nevermind. I shall take them, Masago-San." As I said this, Masago's face lit up like the sun on the horizon. She happily handed back the brown bag filled with the newly picked crops and gave me a smile.

"Thank you so much, Rei-chan!" Masago grinned one last time before running back to whence she came from. And there I was, quivering as I clutched onto the brown bag.

It took me a good ten minutes or so before I inhaled my courage and walked over to Masamune's tent. I was shivering in great fear in the process of walking towards the tent, but I swallowed more courage and bravery as I stepped closer to the largest tent in the campsite. As I was about fifteen feet away or so from Masamune's tent, I stopped my tracks. I looked ahead of me and saw a young woman walk over to the tent. From many feet away, I could tell she was beautiful. And not only beautiful, but also royal as well.

She had elbow-length, wavy reddish-brown hair that reminded me of a sea of poppies. She wore a light green kimono with dark blue floral stitching on it with a yellow obi. I would've probably been wearing something like that if I was still in my kingdom, and I must admit, I was jealous. Compared to the simple cotton clothes I was currently wearing, I looked like nothing but a mere servant girl.

This enchanting woman slipped inside of the tent, her two guards talking with Masamune's guards. I still stood there, unsure of who that beautiful woman was and why she was there, but I walked over, carrying the bag over my shoulder. It isn't very polite to eavesdrop onto other people's conversations, especially when it comes to royalty, but I wanted to know who that woman was, so I pretended to walk beside the tent to keep the guards attention away from mine. I stood by the left side of the tent, dropped down on my hands and knees, and put my ear gently against the tent. When all was nearly silent outside, I heard voices coming from inside of Masamune's tent.

"It's about time you noticed a visitor, Masamune." This was probably the woman who just entered the tent not even a minute ago.

"Why are you here, Kotori?" This voice was Masamune's.

Kotori. I knew I heard of that name somewhere before, but where?

"I have come to repay you." Kotori responded.

"You have nothing to repay, Kotori. Get out." Masamune snapped.

"Oh, yes I do," I heard Kotori coming closer to where I was, as if she saw my shadow, but she didn't say anything, which relieved me greatly. "I need to repay you, my dear Masamune. It's been almost a full year since you visited my castle. I miss your company."

"So you came all the way here to tell me _that_?" Masamune questioned. I heard Kotori chuckle at this.

"Oh, Masamune, you haven't changed a bit." Kotori walked around in the tent. "But your puny little army is still as weak as ever."

"They are not weak!"

"Are you certain about that?"

"I am! My army will help me conquer Japan, you just wait!"

"You can't promise me something that won't really happen." Kotori chuckled again. Masamune growled at this comment and then sighed shortly after.

"Forget it. You wouldn't understand anyway, because you only care about yourself."

"That's harsh." Kotori whined in a forged tone. I saw Kotori's figure walk around inside of the tent again. "Anyway, did you hear about that runaway princess?"

"Runaway princess?" Masamune repeated.

"Yeah. It was about five days ago or something like that. Her kingdom was struggling in the midst of the war, so she ran off. Apparently she's in disguise as a peasant girl and sold away all of her kimono and jewelry." Kotori said. "Those items must've been like candy to starving children to those commoners who took the kimono and accessories."

"Why are you telling this to me?" Masamune asked.

"Because if you happen to see her anywhere, tell me."

"How come?"

"You see, me and Mitsue Murakami-Sama, the runaway princess, had a little pact."

"A pact?"

"That's right. We promised each other about three years ago that if anything bad happened in her kingdom during this objectionable war, her kingdom would fall into _my_ hands." Kotori giggled. "We were actually friends when we were stupid children, but we then saw each other in a new light as enemies."

I suddenly remembered the name Kotori. Ever since we were young girls, we had been friends, because our fathers knew each other very well. But ever since the war, our kingdoms turned against each other in rage and abhorrence. We made a promise that whoever's kingdom fell first would be ours automatically. I completely forgot about that promise we made when I ran away from home. And now, I began to regret running away for the very first time. My kingdom was now to be in Kotori's hands.

"And what would you do to Mitsue if she is ever found?" Masamune asked Kotori.

"We would just have a friendly little conversation, that's all." Through the tent, I saw Kotori's figure perfectly. And while she said friendly little conversation, I saw her index finger go horizontally across her throat.

Kotori was out to kill me.

And it didn't help me when I heard Kotori laugh evilly like a demon.

"Stop it!" Masamune hissed. "If she ran away from her kingdom, that would mean a surrender, wouldn't it? There is no use in killing her when the deal you made with her is already broken enough!"

"I'm not satisfied with her running across Japan to find a safe and happy life," Kotori said. "She must have her blood spilt to make our deal complete."

There was a long silence; Kotori's demonic chuckles heard here and there, and finally, after minutes of me shivering in dread and Kotori giggling evilly, Masamune finally sighed.

"Kotori, leave now. I command it."

"Fine, be that way, Masamune dear," Kotori walked over to Masamune and touched his face with her hand. "But remember, be on the lookout for that princess before Nobunaga takes your head." Kotori couldn't help but chuckle again as Masamune shoved her away from him and she walked over to the door of the tent.

"Kotori-Sama." Her guards said in unison as she exited the tent.

"Let us go. We camp out one mile from here."

"Yes!" They both said in perfect unison, running towards their horses. Masamune was still inside of his tent, muttering to himself. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I think it was because of how afraid I was at the moment.

Once I heard the horses trot away, it was my cue to finally come out from beside the tent and to the front entrance to finish my favor Masago asked me to do long ago. I told the guards that I had food to give to Masamune, and they let me inside of the tent. I hadn't been inside of his tent since I first became a servant, which was only two days ago. Masamune was standing in the corner of the tent, still muttering to himself. He wasn't aware of my presence at all.

"Masamune-Sama," I spoke up. He was a bit startled by my presence, but he seemed slightly relieved when he saw me. "I have brought you—."

"Rei." He walked over to me. Grabbing my wrists roughly, he pulled me closer to him, where his eye met mine. "Tell the other servants to stay away from Kotori."

"May I ask who Kotori is?" I questioned, acting as if I never heard the conversation that happened only minutes before I entered the tent.

"The princess of Miyazu. She was here just a moment ago." Masamune let go of my wrists and paced around the tent. "You haven't seen a Murakami Mitsue anywhere, have you?"

"No, Masamune-Sama, I have not. Why do you need to see her so badly?"

"I want to make sure Kotori doesn't get her filthy hands on her. That princess is innocent, as well as cowardly." Masamune said. I tried my best to gulp down my words towards his spiteful comment, and I kept my mouth closed like stitches. "Kotori cannot be trusted. No one can trust that devilish woman. She's even worse than Nohime."

"Masamune-Sama," I spoke up. "Are you happening to be…planning anything towards…any female servant?"

"What do you mean by that?" Masamune squinted his eye.

"I mean to say that…" I stammered quite a bit, which reminded me of how Masago would slightly stutter in some of her sentences, as I struggled to realize what I was going to say to Masamune. "Nevermind. Forget all that I asked."

"If you say so." Masamune peered down at the brown bag I nearly forgot that I was holding. "Are those crops?"

"Yes. I was delivering them to you. Please take them." I said, handing Masamune the bag of tomatoes and cucumbers. Masamune peeked inside of the bag.

"Five items?" Masamune questioned in slight disappointment. "Oh well, it was better than last time. Say, doesn't that other commoner girl deliver the crops to me?"

"You mean Masago-san?"

"Yes, her." Masamune stared up at me, as if I weren't supposed to say Masago's name at all. I bowed down quickly and hurriedly walked towards the exit of the tent.

"Rei."

I turned around and looked at Masamune.

"Never address servants with 'san' again. Who do you think you are?"

I nodded my head solemnly and exited the tent, bowing down to the guards before walking away. Oh, how I desperately wanted to say, "I am Mitsue Murakami!"

.......................................

"Rei-chan! I have to thank you for giving those crops to Date-Sama!" Masago came up to me, as it was our time for sleep.

When it gets dark, all of the servants go to their tents to sleep. But instead of sleeping, this is our time to converse with each other while not getting scolded at to get back to work. Masago and I developed quite a friendship and always talked with each other. There were some other kind servant girls that talked to me, too, and they were the only friends that I seemed to have now.

"It was nothing. I was just doing a simple task given to me." I smiled.

"You are so lucky, Rei-chan," A servant girl named Kiku said. "I have never been inside of Masamune Date-Sama's before. Only a few other servant girls have, like Masago-chan."

"It is nothing so special, to be completely honest." I stated.

"Easy for you to say, Rei-chan," Kiku kept going on. "I work for Masamune-Sama, and yet, I have never seen his face before."

Kiku was probably a few years older than me, but she had the spirit of a child trapped inside of her. She would daydream and always imagine she would live in some foreign castle of some kind. If only I had told her all of my stories of royalty, she would be nothing more than an envious young woman wanting to be in my place as princess. If only she knew how much a princess can be worn out by her own position.

"What is Masamune-Sama like?" Another servant girl I befriended, named Kana, asked of me. I figured that she had never seen Masamune's face either.

"He overreacts to many things that I say to him," I stated. "And yet, he has treated me…in a strange form of kindness."

"If he shows you some kindness, then he must be an amazing gentleman." Kana sighed in jealousy of also not meeting Masamune.

"He also told me to tell all of the servants to 'stay away from Kotori'."

"Wait," Masago spoke up. "Does he meant the princess Kotori from Miyazu?"

"Masago-chan, you meant to say 'does he mean the princess'." Kiku corrected Masago's poor grammar again. Kiku was the only one, beside myself, who had grammar lessons taught to her, because her family was actually able to afford them when she was younger.

"Darn it all! I thought I had it that time!" Masago grumbled angrily in frustration.

"Anyway," I cleared my throat. "Kotori from Miyazu apparently came to visit Masamune-Sama earlier today before I delivered him the crops. He said to me that we need to avoid her."

"But why?" Kana questioned.

"He told me," I stopped myself from sighing too loudly. "He told me something about a runaway princess she was after to kill."

"A runaway princess you say?" Kiku asked.

"Yes."

"Who is the princess girl anyway?" Masago asked. I was about to answer Masago's question until one of Masamune's guards entered our tent.

"Hey! All of you get some rest! We told you to get sleep half an hour ago!" The guard stared at all of us like a bird of prey before he stared at me. "Everyone get to sleep except you." I didn't realize he was talking to me until Masago nudged me in the side. I pointed to myself and the guard nodded his head roughly. I stood up and he led me outside.

"Did I do something displeasing?" I asked him.

"How should I know? Masamune-Sama just told me to come and get you." The guard replied with no kindheartedness.

Instantaneously, the fear from earlier today about going to Masamune's tent returned. What did Masamune want with me now? And somehow, the shivers crawling up and down my spine like spiders seemed to answer that question for me. My heart, pounding like a rabbit's, wanted to burst out of my chest and flee from where I was, but I had no choice but to follow the guard to the large tent. It took a little while to reach the tent, where the guards led me up to the entrance. Candles were dimly lit inside, like when I first met Masamune. The pounding in my chest increased even more as I put my hand to the entrance of the tent. Before I could even touch the material of the tent to go inside, the person on the other side of the entrance swiftly moved it away to open the tent. Masamune Date was standing right before me.

"There you are." He said, a smile across his face.

_**To be continued!**_

_Panda-chan: Ooh, a cliffy! CLIFFFFYYY!_

_Mitsue: Oh God, what's going to happen to me?_

_Panda-chan: You just have to find out when the next chapter is updated!_

_Masamune: Panda-chan, you do so well in making me look like a sex addict._

_Panda-chan: Oh, thanks Masamune! You would probably do the same for me, too!_

_Masamune: That wasn't a compliment._

_Panda-chan: Whatever! _

_Masago: See you guys in chapter…chapter…uh…_

_Panda-chan: THREE!_

_Masago: Yeah! That's it!_

_Panda-chan: BYE! SEE YOU THEN!!_


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